Nelly Furtado and Sarah McLachlan have both been nominated for five Juno Awards, the yearly ceremony that celebrates Canadian music. Nickelback and Celine Dion are up for four awards, and Billy Talent, Our Lady Peace, and Sam Roberts have been named in three categories. Avril Lavigne, Rush, Alanis Morissette, Simple Plan and Barenaked Ladies are also up for awards. This year’s Junos will take place at various venues in Edmonton, Alberta, from April 2 to 4. …

Want to watch Godsmack perform from your cozy La-Z-Boy? You can either watch one of the band’s home videos, or you can pick up a copy of its upcoming acoustic EP, The Other Side, due March 16. One copy of the disc will include a golden ticket that will entitle the purchaser to a personal concert in their living room by Sully and the boys. … West Coast rapper Xzibit will unveil the new hip-hop group he’s formed, Strong Arm Steady, through a DVD on March 2, titled “Strong Arm Steady: The DVD.” The group features Xzibit and a trio of underground MCs — Phil Da Agony, Krondon and Mitchy Slick. The DVD includes footage of the group’s first live shows last year and visits to the recording studio. Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, Ice-T and others make cameos. …

Gang Starr are prepping the release of a DVD that compiles exclusive live performances from the influential hip-hop group’s 15-year history and in-studio visits with DJ Premier. An accompanying live CD is also expected to be included in the package, which is due in the summer. … DJ Danger Mouse has been added to this year’s Coachella Festival lineup on May 2 in Indio, California. Performing the same day will be the Cure, the Flaming Lips, Air and others. Danger Mouse, who recently received a cease-and-desist order for his record The Grey Album, which creatively blends Jay-Z‘s The Black Album with the Beatles’ The White Album, is working on collaborative LPs with Cee-Lo and MF Doom. He is also producing the upcoming disc by Tha Alkaholics, Firewater, and albums by Prince Po and Sage Francis. …

Art Garfunkel, one half of the legendary ’60s folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, has pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in Hurley, a small town 90 miles north of New York City. He was fined $100 and had to pay an additional $100 in court costs. The singer’s lawyer entered the guilty plea on February 4, which meant he didn’t have to attend Wednesday’s scheduled court appearance. Garfunkel was busted for weed possession on January 17 when his limousine was pulled over for speeding and cops found a baggie containing six grams of marijuana in his jacket pocket. … Christian grunge-lite band Switchfoot have been nominated by the Gospel Music Association for six Dove Awards this year. Stacie Orrico has also been nominated for Doves, as have perennials Jars of Clay and Newsboys. …

Former Kiss members Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer are putting together and performing on a Kiss tribute record, Spin the Bottle, which will come out April 27. The 11-song disc will feature a host of singers including Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider on “Detroit Rock City,” Helmet‘s Page Hamilton on “Calling Dr. Love,” Motörhead‘s Lemmy Kilmister on “Shout It Out Loud,” WWE wrestler Chris Jericho on “King of the Night Time World” and the Melvins‘ Buzz Osborne on “God of Thunder.” The album will include a 40-minute behind-the-scenes bonus DVD. …

Fleetwood Mac will launch a North American tour on May 8 in Madison, Wisconsin. Dates are scheduled through June 22. The band is still touring to support last year’s studio album Say You Will. … The second studio album by Tantric, After We Go, will be out February 24, and the band will hit the road immediately after its release. The first date of the tour is February 25 in Minneapolis. Dates are scheduled through March 20 in Columbia, South Carolina. …

02.11.2004

Mississippi rapper David Banner will bring his crunk baptisms to the road when he joins Ludacris and Chingy‘s Chicken-N-Beer tour. Ludacris protégé I-20 and West Coast MC Knoc-Turn’Al are also on the bill. The tour starts February 16 in Portland, Oregon, and wraps up March 21 in Las Vegas. …

Not everyone loved Andre 3000‘s live rendition of his award-winning single, “Hey Ya!,” at the Grammys. The Native American Cultural Center in San Francisco is calling for a boycott of Outkast and CBS, which broadcast the ceremony, because it found Andre’s aesthetic choices for the performance offensive. For the song, Andre rapped in front of a teepee, flanked by women in fluorescent green buckskin outfits (along with others dressed as a toy marching band). The chairman of the center filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. … Soul will meet surf when Ruben Studdard and the Beach Boys participate in the NBA’s All-Star Saturday Night festivities. Taking place a day before the 53rd annual All-Star Game, the evening will feature the beloved three-point shootout and slam-dunk competitions. The Saturday show will be broadcast on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. …

Part “NBA Live” video-game tournament, part MC battle, the Livestyle Finals, hosted by Jermaine Dupri, Lil’ Kim and Los Angeles’ Power 106 radio DJ Big Boy, will feature the top virtual hoopsters and the best unsigned spitters vying for big prizes: a guest cameo in “NBA Live 2005″ for the gamers, and a track on the game’s soundtrack for the rappers. The event takes place Thursday at L.A.’s Niketown. NBA pros including Kareem Rush (Los Angeles Lakers), Carlos Boozer (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Corey Maggette (Los Angeles Clippers) are scheduled to be on hand. … Radiohead will release a Japanese EP of remixes and B-sides from the Hail to the Thief sessions on March 29, to coincide with their tour of Japan. The Com Lag EP will feature 10 songs, including “Paperbag Writer,” “Where Bluebirds Fly,” “I Am a Wicked Child,” “Gagging Order” and a live version of “2+2=5.” …

Metallica‘s James Hetfield will narrate a two-part reality program on ESPN on the NHL team the Colorado Avalanche starting Thursday. Also on the Metallica front, Motörhead will record the Kill ‘Em All song “Whiplash” for an upcoming Metallica tribute album, which will also feature Dark Angel and Life After Death. … The WB’s new cartoon “The Batman” will definitely have an edge over other superhero series, or rather it’s got theEdge: The U2 guitarist is working on the show’s theme song. “The Batman,” to air on the WB and Cartoon Network this fall, focuses on a young Bruce Wayne as he struggles with his dual identity and battles familiar foes like the Joker, Catwoman and Mr. Freeze. …

Former New Kid on the Block Joey McIntyre will release his latest solo album, 8:09, on April 27. The first single, “LA Blue,” comes out March 1. MacIntyre named the album 8:09 because August 9 was the date he met his wife, who was working as a real-estate broker and showed him a house with a street address of 809, which he wound up renting. The couple got married a year later on the same date. … Alanis Morissette‘s forthcoming album, So-Called Chaos, has been pushed back a month and is now due May 18. The singer is planning to shoot a video for the first single, “Everything,” which will be released to radio on March 23. …

Nü-metal band Nothingface have broken up after releasing four albums. “It was a great 10-year run and we thank you all for the great memories! We could only hope that we gave you as much as you gave us,” the group said in a press statement. Singer Matt Holt and bassist Bill Gaal will continue in the new hardcore group Perfect Enemy. … San Francisco tribal noise band Neurosis will release their next album, The Eye of Every Storm, in June. The disc is the follow-up to the band’s 2003 collaboration with Swans member Jarboe, Neurosis & Jarboe. … Hit with a copyright-infringement lawsuit similar to the ones brought against it by the U.S. recording industry, Kazaa‘s Australia-based parent company, Sharman Networks, filed a motion Tuesday to delay the case until the U.S. copyright conflict was resolved. Sharman’s plea of a stay will be decided upon on February 20. …